Cheshire and Merseyside Maternity Voices Network

What are Maternity Voices Partnerships?

Maternity Voices Partnerships (MVP) are groups of local individuals and families who are working with midwives, doctors and other maternity healthcare practitioners and commissioners to co-review, co-design the development of local services.

Why should I get involved?

This is a real opportunity for you to have your maternity experience to be heard. We want to know if there are lessons to learn and best practice to share. This is a great way to get involved with shaping your local services.

Click here to watch local Wirral MVP Chair, Victoria Walsh discusses why she got involved and why you should too

Who can get involved?

• Those who have first-hand experience maternity services
• Those who have shared a loved-ones maternity journey
• Clinicians and Healthcare Professionals wanting to help improve local maternity services for local people
• Commissioners that manage Women/Children/Maternity services and providers
• Community Organisations that work closely with local families and Community Organisations who can act as an advocate on behalf of local families

Where can I get involved?

Across the Cheshire and Merseyside area, we have a number of MVP’s working closely with their local maternity providers.

If you would like to find out more information about how you, your family/friend, an organisation can get involved please email the Cheshire and Merseyside MVP Network at cm_maternity_voices_partnership_network@outlook.com

Family Voices Partnerships

The Cheshire and Merseyside Women’s and Children’s Services Partnership alongside the Local Maternity System leads on the; Maternity, Neonatal, Paediatric and Gynaecology services transformation.

Whilst working alongside local people, we have realised that not all journeys end after birth. Some families with young babies will experience local neonatal services and some families with young children will use their local paediatric services – all for different and varied reasons.

So much can be learnt from local families’ experiences, that’s why Cheshire and Merseyside MVP Network are working with the Cheshire and Merseyside Women’s and Children’s Services Partnership to create the Cheshire and Merseyside Family Voices Partnership. This collaboration of services and service user experience will enable better understanding of people’s journeys through Maternity, Neonatal and Paediatric Services and pave the way for joined up, person-centred care.

Further information

• Better Births Review and Implementing Better Births
• Five Year Forward View
• The NHS Long Term Plan – here is a summary and an easy read version
• National Maternity Voices

If you are from outside the Cheshire and Merseyside area – click here to find your local MVP

Key words and phrases

Local Maternity System - Local Maternity Systems (LMS) cover different geographical areas in England. We are within the Cheshire and Merseyside LMS. The LMS leads the collaborative transformation of maternity services, with a focus on delivering high quality, safe and sustainable maternity services and improved outcomes and experience for woman and their families.

Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) - CCGs are clinically-led statutory NHS bodies responsible for the planning and commissioning of health care services for their local area. They were created following the Health and Social Care Act in 2012, and replaced Primary Care Trusts on 1 April 2013.

Co-design & Co-review - 'Co-' literally means working alongside one another. So we will work together to design, review and develop local maternity services.